Polish MiG-29s for Ukraine?
On 8 March 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland published a statement that Poland is ready to hand over all their MiG-29 fighter aircraft to the US Government. It is also reported that the aircraft are ready to be deployed to Ramstein air base (Germany).
This statement is made in connection with an earlier statement by the US Secretary of State on the possibility of providing aircraft to Ukraine. Poland has requested the US to provide the Siły Powietrzne RP (Polish Air Force) with used fighters to replace the MiG-29s. No details were given on the number of replacement aircraft.
UPDATE: Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby made an official statement regarding the announcement of the Polish government; "We are now in contact with the Polish government following the statement issued today. As we have said, the decision about whether to transfer Polish-owned planes to Ukraine is ultimately one for the Polish government. We will continue consulting with our Allies and partners about our ongoing security assistance to Ukraine, because, in fact, Poland's proposal shows just some of the complexities this issue presents. The prospect of fighter jets "at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America" departing from a US/NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance. It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it. We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland's proposal is a tenable one."
The Polish Air Force operates MiG-29s from three batches. These are the originally supplied model 9.12Bs, the ex Czech Air Force model 9.12As (10x) and the ex Luftwaffe (GAF, German Air Force) model 9.12Bs (23x) which were modified to MiG-29G standard. All MiG-29s were then upgraded to Polish NATO standard (IFF/TACAN), with a limited number further modified to WZL2 Stage I upgrade with Trimble GPS, and some to WZL2 Stage II by Esterline CMC Electronics, with AMLCD display, AAP control panel, UFCP HUD and new radios (RCU-8150, RT-8200).
According to the Scramble Magazine database, the Polish Air Force has the following MiG-29s in its active inventory:
Photo via Scramble Archive